Tattoo (episode)
Chakotay investigates mysterious symbols and visions that are remarkably similar to one of his childhood experiences. Summary Teaser Commander Chakotay and an away team are investigating some polyferranide deposits on an uninhabited moon when Tuvok discovers an unusual symbol in the remains of a long-dead campfire. This symbol sparks a flashback in Chakotay, returning him to a memory of a childhood camping trip with his father, Kolopak. The young Chakotay sees the same symbol carved into a fallen tree trunk. His father calls the symbol a CHAH-mooz-ee and tries to explain to him that their ancestors left it as a blessing to the land. As they discuss their ancestral traditions, Chakotay displays unconcern and dislike for his father's insistence on following traditions. His father attempts to teach Chakotay about the Sky Spirits and their role in Indian history, but Chakotay remains skeptical. As the scene reverts to the present, Chakotay tells the others that the symbol is "a blessing to the land, for damaging it with the campfire." Tuvok is skeptical, and Chakotay plays down his knowledge of the rituals. Act One Back on , Ensign Wildman is in sickbay, complaining of a "shooting" pain in her lower back. The Doctor informs her that the baby is fine, it is just pressing against a nerve in her back. Kes wants to relieve Wildman of duty for a day, but The Doctor refuses, telling her that she'd just have to "learn to live with" the discomforts surrounding pregnancy, and schedules her for a follow-up appointment. After she leaves, Kes lectures The Doctor about showing compassion for his patients, and he replies by stating that Voyager is crewed by adults, and that he would not "coddle them." As Kes leaves, The Doctor refutes her arguments (to himself) by proclaiming that he doesn't have a life, only a program. In the meantime, Chakotay and Captain Janeway are discussing Chakotay's flashback on the surface of the moon. He reveals that he'd hated the expedition, expressing his dislike for being away from home and friends on the Cardassian border for an expedition in the jungle, seeking the ancient Rubber Tree People. Chakotay shows the captain a picture of the pattern he found; set against the ceremonial stone from his medicine bundle, the designs are nearly identical. Chakotay can offer only one explanation, citing an ancient myth that claims that a group of "Sky Spirits" created the Rubber Tree People and led them to a "sacred land" where they could live eternal lives. Janeway points out that he doesn't seem to believe the myth, and Chakotay counters by bringing up the story of Adam and Eve, comparing that belief to his. The captain reveals that B'Elanna Torres has detected a warp trail leading away from the moon, and asks Chakotay if he thinks they should follow it. He claims to not want to put his interests ahead of the ship's, while Janeway counters by claiming that the race that left the trail might have the polyferranide the crew needs. Chakotay agrees with her logic. Act Two The crew tracks the warp signature to an M-Class planet, but sensors can't find any life signs on the surface. They do, however, discover some unusually elevated EM readings, which are too high to be natural. Chakotay believes it is some sort of cloaking device, and Janeway orders Ensign Kim to transmit a continuous identification message. Lieutenant Torres then calls to inform the captain that they've discovered large deposits of polyferranide some ten kilometers underground. The captain orders an away mission to survey the deposit, and Chakotay, Torres, Tuvok, and Neelix all transport to the surface. In the transporter room, however, problems arise. Torres and the transporter chief have tried seven sets of beam-down coordinates, but each time they lock on, a mysterious thunderstorm develops which blocks transport. Tuvok speculates that the transporter beam is causing electrostatic discharges in the atmosphere, and the team decides to proceed in a shuttle. As the shuttle enters the planet's atmosphere, another mysterious storm develops, sparking another of Chakotay's excursions into memories of similar times long ago. Young Chakotay and his father have another disagreement about the nature and intentions of the Sky Spirits, and Chakotay still seems skeptical of their existence. Act Three The Doctor has "infected" himself with the 29-hour Levodian flu to prove a point to Kes, who is worried he is unable to feel compassion for the patients he treats. Meanwhile on the planet, the away team searches a jungle. Chakotay spots a rare flower which appears identical to one he saw during the camping trip with his father. While Torres discovers a possible lead on the mineral, Chakotay is distracted by a hawk. He remembers telling his father his plans to leave the tribe to join Starfleet. His father has mixed emotions: he recognizes his son's desire to explore the universe, but is worried that if young Chakotay leaves the tribe now he will forever be caught between worlds. Amidst their conflict, they discover a primitive structure. Back in the present, Neelix has apparently been attacked by the same hawk Chakotay saw. While trying to fight the hawk off, Chakotay sees a brief flash of a face. As Neelix beams out, Tuvok discovers an alien structure which resembles the primitive structure from Chakotay's past. The Doctor treats Neelix, pointing out that he is twenty hours into his sickness and still does not require compassion. After examining the structure and surrounding area, the Away team reports that while there was a civilization nearby but it left quickly, just before their arrival on the surface. Chakotay believes that with no evidence to the contrary that the beings are hiding nearby and orders the team to lay down their weapons, as his father had on the journey in his past. On that trip, after laying down their weapons to show that they posed no threat, the primitive Rubber Tree People from which Chakotay's tribe descends appeared from the brush to make friendly contact. A severe storm strikes up very quickly, causing the away team to try to get back to their shuttle. Chakotay sees an alien figure running through the brush and is separated when a tree is blown over, pinning him to the ground and knocking off his combadge. Tuvok calls for an emergency beam out, but Chakotay is left behind. Act Four Paris scans the ground and finds no trace of the shuttle. Janeway prepares to return to the surface to find the commander but is interrupted by the EMH – his 29-hour flu has lasted thirty hours, causing him to panic. Kes admits she added a few hours to the illness The Doctor programmed, to teach him a lesson. Chakotay awakens and returns to the structure. He attempts once again to address the aliens, telling them they have nothing to fear from him. He remembers his earlier experience: the Rubber Tree People stripped their clothes off and drew the tattoo symbol on his father's forehead. Chakotay strips down and dons a robe he finds in the structure. When it becomes clear that weather prevents any attempt to beam down to the surface, Tuvok postulates that someone is controlling the climate to prevent visitors. Left with no other choice, Janeway decides to prepare Voyager to land on the surface to search for the missing commander. The weather's severity increases, putting the ship in danger. Chakotay takes shelter from the intense weather in a cave where he once more tries to communicate with the aliens. This time he is apparently successful: several armed humanoid aliens appear, each with a tattoo similar to his own. The alien is shocked to learn that he is Human, which he calls "The Inheritors." 45,000 years previously the group of beings visited Earth and ran across a group of primitive nomadic Humans. Impressed by their respect for the land, the beings gifted the people with a genetic bond. They are the Sky Spirits Chakotay's people have worshiped for countless generations. The Sky Spirit goes on to explain that when they received Voyager s message of peace, they were worried – they were afraid that Voyager, like Human conquerors generations ago, were dishonest and intended to wipe them out. After Chakotay explains that they mean no harm, the weather suddenly dissipates, freeing Voyager. Chakotay is located by an away team and says goodbye to the Sky Spirit people. As a hawk flies overhead, he hears his father's voice, "Do you hear him, Chakotay?" "Yes father," Chakotay says aloud, "I finally hear him." Memorable Quotes "I don't have a life, I have a program." : - The Doctor "I programmed myself with the symptoms of the 29-hour Levodian flu. Thus I will gain the experience that you suggest would be beneficial to the performance of my duties. Holographic tissue paper for the holographic runny nose. Don't offer them to patients. Mmm, interesting sensation, blowing one's nose. It's my first time." "I think this is very brave of you." "Nothing of the sort. I intend it to be an educational experience." "I'm sure you'll learn a lot." "I meant for the crew. I'm tired of the whiny, cranky attitudes we see around here. I intend to serve as an example of how one's life and duties do not have to be disrupted by simple illness." : - The Doctor and Kes "Doc? I don't feel so good." "Neither do I, and you don't hear me complaining." : - Kim and The Doctor "Sorry, Sky Spirits. I will never make friends with bugs." "Maybe that's why they keep biting you." : - Young Chakotay and Kolopak "You're lucky the bird didn't tear your eye from its socket - we have no spare Talaxian eyeballs." : - The Doctor to Neelix "Oh, I don't understand it. I... I ran a computer diagnostic and it said that my program was fine." "Just rest, doctor. Here's a cool, holographic towel for your forehead." "Oh, thank you. Thank you so much. Please... don't go yet." "I have to. The captain..." "I feel like I'm fading, just... fading away. You don't know what that means to a hologram." "What seems to be the problem?" "My simulated virus is leading me to a simulated death." "It's nothing to worry about. I just added a couple of hours to his computer program. He'll be fine in about forty-five minutes. Knowing when it would end didn't exactly make it a fair test, did it, doctor?" "She's far more devious than I ever suspected." : - The Doctor and Kes, then Kim "The Sky Spirits must have taken a wrong turn somewhere." : - Chakotay, while hiking with his father in South America "Warning, approach vector is too steep. Discontinue landing sequence." "Can somebody turn that off, ''please?!" : - '''The Computer' and Tom Paris "Can we go to low warp?" "The ship might make it without inertial dampeners but we'll all be stains on the back wall." : - Kim and Paris "We need that extra power, B'Elanna." "Ten minutes. I just need ten minutes" : - Janeway and B'Elanna "A lot of things have changed since the last time you stopped by." : - Chakotay, to the Sky Spirit Background Information Story and Script * This episode was the first of four from Star Trek: Voyager s second season that returning executive producer Michael Piller was involved in writing. * The story was originally planned for inclusion during Season 1 and, in its final form, developed from a series of meetings designed to get the series back on track during its second season. "This is the first story," Michael Piller recalled, "that came out of the emergency development meetings that we had. It was a show that had been virtually abandoned from last season, a story that had been pitched and we bought but which didn't turn out right. Nobody could figure out how to make it work, yet I'd always been attracted to the idea of the pitch, which was that Indians have these myths about sky spirits, and a natural extension of that myth was that these could have been travelers from space. For Chakotay to find evidence of these sky spirits seemed to be the beginning of a terrific personal journey." Piller elaborated, "Here's a man who has lost his faith, and he gets it back through this journey .... I looked at this as an opportunity to really delve into his character." (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages) *The notion of including flashbacks into Chakotay's youth came naturally to the writer. "I had the idea of doing flashbacks at this development meeting and I said, 'Let me take a crack at it. I think I can do something about his relationship with his tribe and his father and cut back and forth and maybe go back to the original sky spirits. " (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages) *The episode was a personal journey for both Chakotay and Piller. The writer stated, "This was a beginning for me of rediscovering what was so neat about writing ''Star Trek. Suddenly I was writing a story about a man who is, during the course of investigating a mystery, reconciling his conflicts with his father, learning to embrace his cultural heritage, learning about Indian lore and even anthropology. So many different elements were working together in the script, it was very, very satisfying." (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages) * Michael Piller thought the episode had several minor weak points, however. "''There was a certain intensity, a certain dark, brooding quality that we wanted to get out of Chakotay that I think we didn't get to ... and I felt that the show was named 'Tattoo', but you could barely see the tattoos on anybody." (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages) * Despite its drawbacks, Michael Piller believed this episode dealt more substantially with a character arc than any of the previous episodes in Star Trek: Voyager second season. "Up until that point," he said, "the shows really weren't about anything. Here was an episode that really went back to basics. It was 'Let's try to make this show not just about a man finding Indians in space, let's make it about Chakotay. Let's talk about character' .... That's a very interesting thing to write .... In general I thought it was a show that led the way in terms of being about something." (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages) Production * This is the second Star Trek episode, after , to feature on-screen . * This was the first of ten Star Trek: Voyager episodes to be directed by Alexander Singer. * Alan Sims was responsible for hiring the trained hawk for this episode that swooped down and attacked Neelix. "Instead," recalled Sims, "the hawk spotted a crow and went off after it in the opposite direction. It took hours to find him. The delay was a nightmare." (Star Trek 30 Years, pg 46) * Although parts of this episode were filmed on location, Michael Piller was not entirely happy with the results. "The location work was quite disappointing," he said. (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages) * On the other hand, of all the sets designed by production designer Richard James during the first two seasons of Star Trek: Voyager, Tuvok actor Tim Russ' favorite set was the jungle environment from this episode. "The combination high-tech, yet ancient structures, combined with the tropical forest was amazing," Russ commented. "It was humid, it smelled like dirt. There's never any need to imagine that you are on an alien planet, because the realism is so breathtaking." (Star Trek: Communicator, issue #111, p. 53) Visual Effects * The footage of Voyager descending towards the Sky Spirit's planet is reused from . Cast * Henry Darrow (Kolopak) previously played Savar in . Video and DVD releases * UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 2.3, * As part of the VOY Season 2 DVD collection Links and references Starring *Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway Also starring *Robert Beltran as Commander Chakotay *Roxann Biggs-Dawson as Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres *Jennifer Lien as Kes *Robert Duncan McNeill as Lieutenant Tom Paris *Ethan Phillips as Neelix *Robert Picardo as The Doctor *Tim Russ as Lieutenant Tuvok *Garrett Wang as Ensign Harry Kim Guest stars *Henry Darrow as Kolopak *Richard Fancy as Alien *Douglas Spain as Young Chakotay *Nancy Hower as Samantha Wildman *Richard Chaves as Sky Spirit Chief Co-stars *Joseph Palmas as Antonio *Majel Barrett as the computer voice Uncredited co-stars *Kevin Grover as an ancient sky spirit *Louis Ortiz as Culhane *John Tampoya as Kashimuro Nozawa References acelyte; alloy-polymer matrix; antithoron; away team; Baldoxic vinegar; Central America; CHAH-mooz-ee; cloaking device; cyclone; cypripedium; electrical storm; fusion reactor; hawk; horticulture; inertial dampener; Inheritor; fire; Levodian flu; lizard; magnesite; monsoon; orchid; Paphiopedilum; polyferranide; Rubber Tree People; salad; sciatic nerve; Sky Spirit; Sky Spirits' homeworld; Sulu, Captain; surveyor; Vulcan orchid; warp coil; warp signature |next= }} de:Tattoo es:Tattoo fr:Tatoo nl:Tattoo Category:VOY episodes